Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch
I think that the easy barrel replacement and rate of fire are a big advantage. As well as the belt fed versus magazine fed allowed for larger quantities of rounds downfield faster.
I've always thought that the biggest problem with belt fed weapons was the requirement of two men teams as well as jams of misfires.
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Practical rate of fire between the Bren and 42 was virtually the same - around 120 rounds per minute.
Bren barrel was far less prone to overheating and also had a quick release handle for rapid changes. Bren was also cheaper and easier to produce, even after the Germans introduced the MG-42 (personally, I think the MG-34 was a better overall machine gun but considerably over engineered).